Your favorite internet startup might not just be using Twitter for business news and sales pitches in the near future -- the US Securities and Exchange Commission has greenlit using the social network to drum up interest in future stocks and debt offerings. This only works for small outfits raising less than $50 million per year, but it should do a lot to help these young companies get funding when many venture capitalists thrive online. While this probably won't be a make-or-break matter for many companies, it shows that the SEC is aware that stuffy official filings will only get you so far in the internet era. Besides, it's fun to think that a 140-character Twitter spiel may be enough to jumpstart the next big tech firm.

Every year, all publicly traded US companies are required to notify investors of the unique risks to their business. Elon Musk's Tesla abides by the same rules, and its list of risk factors makes for interesting reading. While many of its concerns are to be expected, like worries over the safety of lithium ion batteries used in its cars or the high manufacturing costs of Model S, the company also tells investors that customers intent on pimping their rides could put a considerable dent in its electric car empire.

The recent big tech IPOs of companies like Facebook, Twitter and Tesla could all soon be dwarfed by a company with roots far outside Silicon Valley. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group just filed documents for its own offering (choosing to trade its stock in the US over Hong Kong) and while its value has not been determined, it could result in the biggest IPO ever when it's all said and done. Alibaba built its empire on a number of online sales platforms described as a blend of Amazon, eBay and Paypal, and its reach is starting to include the US, thanks to investments in companies like Lyft.

In July of last year gambling site SatoshiDice.com was sold by its creator for 126,315 BTC (Bitcoins) which was roughly $11.5 million at the time. The deal, which was executed on the Romania-based Bitcoin exchange MPEx, has drawn the interest of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The agency sent MPEx operator Mircea Popescu a letter requesting paperwork related to the SatoshiDice sale, including any contracts signed with Erik Voorhees, the founder of the gambling site. The SEC isn't necessarily saying either MPEx or SatoshiDice broke the law, but it's in the process of deciding whether or not these sorts of stock sales executed as Bitcoin trades are legal in the US. If the federal government finds that American financial law has been violated, it could have serious consequences for the future of the virtual currency.

Heard of game development studio King? No, right? You're forgiven, as most folks don't know the name of the studio behind one of the world's most popular games right now: Candy Crush Saga. Sure, it might just be Bejeweled with free-to-play mechanisms built in, but over 93 million people played it last month. Yes, really.

And with those kinds of numbers, King apparently believes it's large enough to go public -- the company today filed for its initial public offering (IPO) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Unexciting financial jargon aside, this means that King's hoping to raise a ton of cash (it's unclear how much) by offering stock to prospective investors; The New York Times is saying King "is expected to seek a multibillion-dollar valuation".

If all of this sounds awfully familiar, that's because FarmVille-maker Zynga pulled the same move just over two years ago -- the story hasn't been as positive in the following years. Like Zynga, King is largely dependent on a single game for its enormous userbase (the 93 million who played Candy Crush Saga in December are pulled from an overall pool of 128 milllion -- over 70 percent of King's entire consumer base). Of course, only time will tell if King will ascend from one-hit wonder, like the Zynga example, to mega-franchise purveyor, a la Rovio with Angry Birds.

Twitter's previously said it wanted to steer clear of patent litigation and focus on our feeds, but IBM may other ideas. In a tweak to its pre-IPO S-1 filing with the US SEC, Twitter let slip that it's recently received a letter from IBM accusing it of infringing three of the company's patents concerning: "efficient retrieval of uniform resource allocators," "presenting advertising in an interactive service," and "programmatic discovery of common contacts." There's no need for lawyering up just yet, as IBM would rather "negotiate a business resolution" -- or get paid off, in other words -- before lodging any legal complaint. Discussions could easily move from the boardroom to the courtroom, however, as Twitter also mentioned in the filing it believes it has "meritorious defenses to IBM's allegations." Oh well, here we go again.

Twitter isn't a public company just yet, but its updated S-1 filing hit today and showed how it's grown in the last three months. While it showed 218 million monthly active users by the end of June, its Q3 stats have grown to 232 million (53 million of them are in the US). While the number of users accessing the service from mobile devices grew slightly from 75 to 76 percent, ad revenue on mobile grew 37 percent since the last report, compared to other revenue which was up 9 percent. It's making more money too, with revenue for the quarter of $168.6 million, up from $139 million in Q2 and $82 million for the same period last year. If you want to invest in the right stock at its IPO, look for TWTR on the NYSE -- until then prospective investors can dig through the financial data here and follow the @TwitterIR account for updates.

There were a number of reports last month that RIM/BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis was at least thinking about putting in a bid of his own for the company, and an SEC filing published today has now shed some more light on the matter. While an actual bid remains anything but a sure thing, the filing does confirm that Lazaridis has agreed to partner with fellow co-founder Douglas Fregin on any potential deal, which could be for "all or a portion of the assets or equity interests" of the company, according to the document. The goal of any bid, as outlined in the filing, would be "stabilizing and ultimately reinventing the company based on a plan developed by them."

The filing also confirms that that the pair have enlisted the help of Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners as they explore their options, which they say includes "a potential acquisition of all the outstanding shares of the issuer that they do not currently own, either by themselves or with other interested investors." This news follows the only formal bid for the company that's on the table, a proposed $4.7 billion deal from Fairfax Financial, which many have grown skeptical of despite a so-called letter of intent agreement that was signed by BlackBerry.

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

When Alabama takes on Texas A&M in college football this afternoon, CBS will have more to offer than just a dedicated "Johnny Cam" following the Heisman winner all day (no, it will not be giving away autographed memorabilia). CBS plans to stream every SEC "Game of the Week" (most are TBD right now, check the schedule after the break) it broadcasts, and this one is up first. That means fans can watch on CBSSports.com or via its iOS mobile app (update: Android too). As an added bonus for fans, just like its Super Bowl live stream and in the NFL's Game Rewind service, there's an All-22 "eye in the sky" angle available as an alternative to the broadcast feed. Shot from a high view over the 50 yard line to show ever player on the field, it lets fans who dig the Xs and Os watch the way coaches do when they break down game film. Internet viewers will have the alternate camera angle plus live stats, Twitter integration, polls and on-demand video clips.

When Facebook became a public company in the summer of 2012, its initial public offering (IPO) didn't go quite as well as the company expected. It went poorly enough that the US Securities and Exchange Commission took action against the exchange which handled Facebook's IPO: Nasdaq. A civil suit filed against the exchange, alleging computer software errors that resulted in a lackluster IPO, was settled today -- the exchange will pay $10 million to settle the suit. The settlement, of course, doesn't mean that Nasdaq is confirming or denying the alleged issues its computer system incurred last year; said issues allegedly cost investors in the ballpark of $500 million. Probably best to un-friend Nasdaq now before things get awkward.

When Netflix CEO Reed Hastings took to Facebook last year to announce that the service had exceeded one billion viewing hours in a month for the first time, the financial world was in uproar. After all, there are rules and regulations concerning when sensitive data about a company's successes and failures can be made public. Since then, however, the Securities and Exchange Commission has done some thinking, and in trying to keep up with social savvy CEOs like Hastings and compulsive tweeter Elon Musk, has ruled that such disclosures can be made, as long as shareholders are notified about which sites will be used. If nothing else, it'd be a great way to see your follower count explode.

When Michael Dell signaled intentions to take his company private for an overhaul, there were questions as to just what he wanted to do if and when shareholders weren't watching his every move: was he going to shift attention away from PCs toward the enterprise? There's no reason to worry, according to a staff memo that his company has published through the SEC. Dell tells his employees that the firm will "significantly increase investment" in PCs and tablets after going private. While he's cryptic about what that means, he does note that there would be a shift away from valuing gross margins -- in other words, the company may take a hit on profits to make its device sales sing. Other strategies are more what you'd expect from any good business: more research and development, a simpler experience and a stronger push into developing markets like Brazil and China. We can't say we're completely surprised when Microsoft made an investment in Dell's reorg precisely to safeguard PCs, but it's good to know that Dell's interest in PCs still extends well beyond the server room.

Microsoft is under investigation by United States regulators over software bribery claims involving foreign government officials, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing "people familiar with the matter." The piece says both the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, investigating allegations of kickbacks in China, and its "relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy." Though neither the Justice Department nor the SEC would confirm the investigation, Microsoft told the WSJ, "We sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners. We cooperate fully in any government inquiries," without confirming the situation.

With regard to China, Microsoft's allegedly being investigated for kickbacks that its Chinese subsidiary is said to have paid for software contracts in the region. In Romania the situation is said to be similar to that in China, but in Italy it's said to involve customer loyalty plans.

Update: Microsoft further outlines its response to the allegations here (though still without confirming whether or not the investigations are taking place).

Looks like May's Hewlett-Packard layoff numbers were about 2,000 short of reality, as the American hardware company adjusted its previous 27,000 estimate to 29,000 in a recent SEC 10-K filing spotted by ZDNet. Those employees represent approximately eight percent of HP's entire workforce, and the restructuring saves the company $3 to $3.5 billion per year -- money it badly needs following last quarter's losses. HP says that 3,800 employees were affected as of July 31, 2012 -- just over 13 percent of the restructuring total. It's unclear how many more will be affected by year's end, if any.

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Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:41:00 -040021|20319701http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/13/ftc-new-settlement-process/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/13/ftc-new-settlement-process/http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/13/ftc-new-settlement-process/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsGoogle recently paid the FTC $22.5 million and Facebook was ordered by the commission to change the way it handles data, but you might be surprised to hear that both companies did nothing wrong. Well, not exactly, but by settling their privacy violation cases, the internet giants are entitled to deny any misconduct. The New York Times reports that J. Thomas Rosch, a commissioner who voted against both settlements, feels that current rules will invite "denials of liability in every case in the future." Rosch wants the policy changed so companies can't deny responsibility when settling, much like the way the SEC handles similar indiscretions. Most of his colleagues weren't in a hurry to back his opinions, but three did say that refining the process could "avoid any possible public misimpression" of how the FTC strikes such deals. The commission is expected to look at the issue in the near future, but until then, we're sure you're more than able to separate the reality from the legalese.

AT&T has only just begun the transition away from 2G services with its spectrum refarming in New York City, but it now has a target end date to mark on the calendar: January 1st, 2017. Courtesy of an SEC filing, we know that the carrier hopes that both its GSM voice and EDGE data networks will have gone to the great cell tower in the sky before we're popping the champagne corks about four and a half years from now. The Big Blue Ball expects the transition to be a smooth one, as only 12 percent of its regular subscribers are using 2G-only phones today; if it ever gets bumpy, the company promises to "proactively" steer the holdouts towards 3G and 4G. Don't get too misty-eyed. While the transition will mark the end to what's arguably one of the most definitive chapters in US cellular history, that far-flung date will likely come well after most of us have moved on -- much like the AMPS shutdown, it could be less of a bang and more of a whimper.

Apple's plans for its next iPhone refresh may be getting very tangible, very quickly. It all started when iMore heard that Apple was preparing to hold an event unveiling the new hardware on September 12th, with a launch the following week on September 21st. Although the relative newcomer to the iPhone release date rumor game is still building its track record, that claim may have just gotten some extra meat: AllThingsD is joining in the chorus and touts its own sources pointing to an event in the same timeframe. While it's almost a month earlier in the year than Apple's iPhone 4S event was in 2011, it's supported by an Apple filing with the SEC showing a sharp uptick in supply purchasing during the spring, which it would need to start production for the fall. All of it is still rumor, of course, but past experience suggests that iOS fans may want to plan any September camping trips for the Apple Store line late in the month, not Labor Day weekend.

Update: Jim Dalrymple at The Loop, who's well-known for his accurate one-word confirmations and denials of rumors, just posted his trademark "yep."

Google's most recent filing to the SEC has revealed how the company came to that $12.4 billion valuation of Motorola. Unsurprisingly, its intellectual property portfolio comprised the bulk of the price -- with Mountain View stumping up $5.5 billion for the "patents and developed technology" owned therein. Larry Page claimed that the deal would "supercharge" the Android ecosystem, which led to the company paying $2.6 billion for goodwill -- which was only expected to arise once the buyout was completed. The company spent $630 million on "net assets," $2.9 billion to buy the phone maker's cash reserves and $730 million on customer relationships. During its most recent earnings call, Google said it had nothing to announce regarding the newest member of the family -- but perhaps we can look forward to some more exciting hardware... pretty please?

Reuters is reporting that regulators have begun a probe of American movie studios and their dealings with Chinese officials. The Security and Exchange Commission has sent letters to at least five companies, including 20th Century Fox, Disney and DreamWorks Animation requesting information about "potential[ly] inappropriate payments" made to members of the Chinese government. The market in the pseudo-Communist nation is seen as one with huge potential for US-made films, but the state-owned China Film Group has placed strict limits on foreign cinema. However, in February, the group agreed to loosen restrictions and exempt up to 14 IMAX or 3D films a year (along with their 2D counterparts) from the 20 movie cap on international media. Around the same time, DreamWorks announced it would be building a production studio in Shanghai with participation from several large Chinese media companies. Even Disney struck a deal that will see the next Iron Man title co-produced by China's DMG Entertainment. The sudden shift in tone must have raised some eyebrows with watchdogs, and the SEC has responded by hitting up the studios for info over the last few months. Obviously, we'll be keeping an eye on this to see how it develops.

Facebook just filed an amended S-1 (that all important document that officially announces its public offering plans) with some new financial info. Now included in the charts and graphs is everything you wanted to know about Q1 of 2012 at Facebook (but were afraid to ask). The new SEC filing reveals that revenues are way up at the social network over last year (a whopping 45 percent higher than Q1 of 2011), but down slightly from last quarter (six percent), settling at a more than respectable $1.058 billion. Of the cash it took in, $872 million of it was ad revenue, which is down from Q4 of 2011 ($943 million) but up significantly from Q1 of last year ($731 million). Facebook was even able to slap a per-user amount on its 900 million active monthly members -- $1.21 -- that's the average revenue for each person with an account at the site. Of course, membership has continued to grow, with 532 million stopping by daily, up from 372 million just a year ago. As for that Instagram purchase, it looks like the widely reported $1 billion figure wasn't entirely accurate -- at least not when talking cold, hard cash. Only $300 million was turned over in immediately spendable currency, the rest of the deal involved 23 million shares of common stock. If you're a sucker for financials hit up the source link.

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Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:46:00 -040021|20222200http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/26/tivo-sues-twc-motorola-mobility/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/26/tivo-sues-twc-motorola-mobility/http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/26/tivo-sues-twc-motorola-mobility/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsFour days ago TiVo abandoned its protracted patent litigation against Microsoft and we sighed in relief at the idea that people were learning to just get along. Our respite was short lived, however, when the company revealed it was lobbing litigation-shaped grenades over the fence toward Motorola Mobility and Time Warner Cable. The lawsuit, filed in the Patent Troll haven of Texas' Eastern District, concerns patents 6,223,389, 7,529,465 and 6,792,195. The first of that trio is the contentious Time Warping patent that's been argued over so much we'd like to slice it in two, King Solomon style. Details beyond that are few and far between, but something tells us we'll be hearing more about the tiff in the future... whether we want to or not.

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Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:42:00 -040021|20200872http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/08/nokia-2011-sec-report/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/08/nokia-2011-sec-report/http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/08/nokia-2011-sec-report/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsNokia submitted its annual report (Form 20-F) to the SEC today, and -- as required of all publicly traded companies -- the information provided a candid overview of its financial health and market risks. Based on its quarterly reports, we've already known it was a rather bleak year for the Finnish outfit, which saw a €1.4b annual loss compared to €1.3b in profit just one year ago. Further, its net sales similarly took it on the chin, which amounted to €38.6b in 2011 versus €42.4b in the previous year. In terms of units sold, Nokia pushed out 339.8m feature phones during the year -- a three percent decline from the 349.2m units sold during 2010. The company attributed the drop to its aggressively priced competitors, as well as its lack of a dual-SIM handset for the first half of the year. Nokia's smartphone segment took an even harder hit, which fell to 77.3m units sold -- a 25 percent drop from the 103.6m devices shipped just one year ago. Once again, the company cites its aggressive competition as the primary factor for the decline, along with a waning interest in the Symbian platform.

In its discussion of potential threats to the company's bottom-line, Nokia provides a rather forthright assessment that accurately pegs its future success in the smartphone marketplace upon the acceptance of Windows Phone among developers and consumers. Likewise, its projections to sell 150 million Symbian units is failing to materialize -- big shocker there -- and Nokia now expects demand for its homegrown platform to continue deteriorating. Nonetheless, it remains stalwart in the commitment to support Symbian through 2016 -- though surprisingly, no comment on how this in itself could be a disaster to the company's bottom-line. Should Nokia's smartphone effort fail, that leaves it with the Series 40 feature phone segment, which it characterizes as a low-margin business that may see its demand erode as smartphones reach even lower price points. Nobody ever said that the mobile industry was a bed of roses, but if you'd like to view the world through Nokia's eyes, you're certain to find its commentary (pages 13 - 47 of the source document) an interesting read.

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Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:58:00 -050021|20189522http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/28/sprint-iphone/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/28/sprint-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/28/sprint-iphone/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsSprint's SEC filings have revealed that the carrier has committed to purchasing $15.5 billion worth of iPhones as part of the long-promised $20 billion gamble. If each handset costs around $630 at trade, then we're talking about the network holding nearly 24 million units. Given that the company most recently ate a loss of $1.3 billion, most of which was caused by carrier subsidies for the 4S, there's a genuine fear that the company won't be able to make enough back on each customer to offset the initial outlay. Given the Baller-style purchasing decisions of Dan Hesse of late, we'll be watching how this unfolds with great interest and our fingers very firmly crossed.

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Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:12:00 -050021|20181760http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/sec-sides-with-beastie-boys-mike-d-says-atandt-must-allow-shareh/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/sec-sides-with-beastie-boys-mike-d-says-atandt-must-allow-shareh/http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/sec-sides-with-beastie-boys-mike-d-says-atandt-must-allow-shareh/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsMichael Diamond may be best known as Mike D of the Beastie Boys, but he's also an AT&T shareholder, and he's now played a central role in forcing a shareholder vote on net neutrality. He, along with his wife Tamra Davis and John P. Silva of Silva Artist Management previously submitted a proposal to AT&T arguing that shareholders should be allowed to vote a resolution that recommended the company "publicly commit to operate its wireless broadband network consistent with network neutrality principles." AT&T unsurprisingly rejected that proposal, stating that it would "directly interfere with its network management practices," but the SEC has now stepped in and said that net neutrality has become a "significant policy consideration," and that it can no longer be excluded from shareholder ballots. As Bloomberg Businessweek notes, companies can challenge the SEC's findings in court, although it remains to be seen if AT&T or other carriers will take that step. No further word from Mike D on the matter, so we'll take this opportunity to share another important message of his after the break.